First in a Series
Raspberry Island Lighthouse, Lake Superior
By Ken and Barb Wardius
In its long and storied maritime history, Wisconsin shorelines have been graced by forty-eight lighthouses. From Lake Superior to Lake Michigan and inland Lake Winnebago, lighthouses are an integral part of our heritage. No symbol is more synonymous with the Great Lakes’ rich nautical past than the lighthouse. For more than a century, they provided a measure of safety for mariners plying these inland seas. The Badger State has the second highest number of lighthouses on the Great Lakes, behind Michigan, which reigns as the champion with well over one hundred beacons.
Like most lighthouses throughout the world, those in Wisconsin were built primarily to guide ships to specific cities or towns, while others identified hazardous shoals, reefs and shallows. These historic beacons have saved countless sailors, ships and cargo.
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The tales of these structures are less about the dates they were constructed or their heights, but more about the innumerable years of service provided by dedicated lighthouse keepers and their families. Great Lakes mariners relied on these folks “keeping the light” to afford them safe harbor. Wisconsin’s lighthouses blazed a trail through the darkness and played a tremendous role in shaping our diverse state. Wisconsin attracted European settlers and the maritime trade that became the backbone of local economies. Water-borne commerce, the thread that weaves through the entire Great Lakes region, was the lifeblood of early Wisconsin. Lighthouses were essential in this process.
Called Gitche Gumee by the Native American Ojibwe, mighty Superior is the largest freshwater lake, by surface area, in the world. With the opening of the Soo Locks in 1855, the western end of Lake Superior was settled later than most of the Great Lakes region. Historically, a myriad of schooners and other vessels did business at the ports of Superior, Ashland and Bayfield, among others. Today modern metal supercarriers have replaced those dependable ships.
There are ten lighthouses on the Wisconsin side of Lake Superior. Nine of them are found within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, more than any National Park in the United States. Most were built between the 1850s and 1920s. The following islands in the Apostles archipelago have one lighthouse each (Sand, Raspberry, Devils, Outer) with Michigan Island (Old and New) and Long Island (La Pointe and Chequamegon Point) each possessing two. The Ashland Breakwater lighthouse was recently added to the National Lakeshore. The Wisconsin Point Lighthouse in the city of Superior, rounds out Wisconsin’s Lake Superior beacons.
Photo: Raspberry Island Lighthouse, Lake Superior. Credit: Ken and Barb Wardius
Ken and Barb Wardius talk about lighthouses on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Ken and Barb Wardius are the authors of Wisconsin Lighthouses, A Photographic & Historical Guide. They have written books on the Cana Island Lighthouse, the Wind Point Lighthouse and the North Point Milwaukee Lighthouse. They live in Glendale, Wisconsin, and are members of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society. Their website is www.gowisconsinlighthouses.com
